Drawing Pharmacology Video 1 of 7

This is a behind the scenes look at the making of a new book, Drawing Pharmacology, to help students use a concept maps and mnemonics in learning pharmacology. These videos are Beta videos, eventually we'll have a professional come shoot the finished products, but with the new semester coming up we thought this would be a valuable share.

As a pharmacist, I have fourth professional year pharmacy students working with me at my college (APPE stands for Advance Pharmacy Practice Experience) and those that are with me are specifically in an elective Academic rotation. In this rotation, the student learns best practices in teaching to students such that students can then teach to their patients. Part of that teaching is good board work and the gravitas that comes from putting content on the board from memory.

These videos are Beta version videos, eventually we'll have a professional come shoot the finished products, but with the new semester coming up we thought this would be a valuable share and to see an alternative to flashcards, PowerPoints, and repeated questions.

Drawing Pharmacology - Gastrointestinal Chapter 1, reviews the major areas of the gastrointestinal system like the videos from Memorizing Pharmacology: A Relaxed Approach also found on Allnurses.com but 1) Adds many more medications and 2) is meant to provide a foundation for adding therapeutic pearls. It works in two steps.

First, a student writes out the information in the video becoming familiar with the medication generic and brand names. While the NCLEX may not test brand names, patients use them often and they are also a key to memorizing the generic. Remembering generic-only makes a person test ready, but less competent to practice. This video shows that step.

Second, a student would only put the first letters of a drug name then add the therapeutic pearls, e.g. bismuth subsalicylate causes black tongue and stool, is contraindicated in children because of the aspirin component and has the potential for salicylism and so forth. They would practice this much like a student would go through notecards, but this drawing the pictures provides an opportunity to reinforce the material and teach it to others.

The concept centers surround drug classes. The drug classes I go over are:

1. Antacids
These drugs include many of the most popular antacids available over the counter. I placed them in alphabetical order because there isn't much of a distinction in generations. These medication names are unique in that the generic name is the chemical name.

2. Histamine-2 receptor blockers
These acid reducers include one medication, cimetidine, which affects the cytochrome P-450 system and is often the focus of many NCLEX questions. The others have that -tidine ending which also looks like "to dine" when many people experience reflux.

3. Proton Pump Inhibitors
The PPIs form the foundation for much of acid reducing therapy and also as a part of treating Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD). The stem -prazole tells us its a PPI, but watch out for -piprazole which means a drug is an antipsychotic. Piprazole is one of the few stems that include another active stem, something the World Health Organization frowns upon.

3a. Triple therapy for PUD

3b. Quad therapy for PUD

4. Gastric protectantsSome medications protect the stomach from insult especially the damage from NSAIDs. One coats the stomach and the other works against the damaging effects of the NSAIDs themselves.

5. Motility agentsThese drugs propel acid out of the stomach reducing the insult. They tend to have a number of drug interactions and have mostly fallen out of favor.

6. Medications for diarrhea and constipation By placing these medications that have opposite effects close to each other it becomes more readily memorable.

7. Medications for nausea and vomitingBy separating those drugs that prevent nausea and those that treat vomiting as distinct, it makes for an easier visual.

8. Medications for irritable bowel syndrome and irritable bowel diseaseWhile this content may not be the highest yield, it's important to understand the difference between the syndrome, a non-autoimmune condition and the disease, an autoimmune condition.

I welcome your feedback as we work to develop this next book and series of videos to benefit pharmacology students.